Hardy Co., WV - Fmr. Del. John Buckley,Libertarian Party candidate in the three-way contest for United States Senate, noted today that his political positions are closer to the small government grassroots of the Republican Party than his GOP opponent’s, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito.

“If the label ‘Republican’ means anything substantively, then I’m the real ‘Republican’ in the race for Senate,” Buckley declared.

“Ms. Capito is bringing in Rep. Paul Ryan to West Virginia, the 2012 GOP nominee for Vice President, in order to bask in the reflected glow of his voting record, but it’s understandable her desire to bury her own record as deep as possible,” he added.

I will fight against Obamacare; Ms. Capito has already thrown in the towel and keeps predicting it’ll never be repealed,” Buckley elaborated.

According to the pro-free enterprise Club for Growth, Paul Ryan has a lifetime rating of 85% in favor of economic liberty, whereas Rep. Capito has an anemic lifetime rating of only 50%. The organization FreedomWorks rates Rep. Ryan a strong 81% rating, but Rep. Capito earns a measly 58%.

“Whether you call it ‘putting lipstick on a pig’ or just the same-old phony politics of the professional politicians, there’s no getting around that Shelley Capito is no conservative,” said Buckley, a former Republican state legislator and an elector in 1980 for Ronald Reagan.

“If Ms. Capito is so proud of her ‘moderate,’ ‘middle-of-the-road’ voting record, why is she so desperate to hide behind Paul Ryan?”

“True advocates of limited government, including thousands of registered Republicans, are turning to Buckley for Senate,” Buckley claims.

“As 3rd Congressional District GOP candidate Evan Jenkins is advertising, it’s not party label that counts; what counts is what a candidate stands for,” said Buckley.

About John Buckley

John Buckley was elected as a Republican to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1979. He also served as a member of the Electoral College in support of Ronald Reagan in 1980. He is retired from a career at the United States Court of Federal Claims, during which he served variously as the chief administrator of the Court as well as Chief of Staff and career law clerk to the Chief Judge.